Stomach Problems :(

[tennisman]

I have been getting stomach pain mostly in the right side of my stomach in the middle , under the ribs and sometimes near the bottom of my stomach. I also get a lot of rumbling and gurgling which is quite painful. This all started in May 2008 I don't remember how, I think it might have been after I got a virus but i'm not 100 % sure, it just started out of the blue I can't really remember properly. I was diagnosed with celiac in 2003 and never had any stomach problems after that , the occasional stomach pain here and there but nothing that lasted long.

In May 2008 when my stomach pain started , I had to go to A&E hospital at midnight because the pain was really bad , but the doctor's never found out what was wrong and just have me a lot of painkillers. Throughout the rest of 2008 my stomach pains were on and off it was really random. Than after a couple of weeks with no stomach pain it started up again in october 2008 and has never got better

I have been to see my celiac doctor and he says the stomach pain i'm getting is not connected to my celiac disease. But he has no idea what is causing the pain ? I thought it might be food intolerances and i'm seeing a dietitan at the moment but he can't find anything obvious on my food and symptoms diary. I get pain now 90 % of the time after I have eaten. Always after lunch and dinner , but not all the time after breakfast.

To get rid of the pain I take colfac tablets also known as Mebeverine. Quite a lot of the time if I go to the toilet my stomach gets better after going, also a shot of alcoholic drink normally calms my stomach down.

1 doctor said I had IBS but he also told me I was getting pain because I didn't stick to the gluten free diet which I do , I haven't had any gluten in 7 years. My celiac doctor doesn't really listen to me and my symptoms and tells me to take Mebeverine if my stomach gets bad.

Now I really don't have a clue what is going on with my stupid stomach I have also had back problems since I was 17 , i'm 23 now so i'm kinda fed up with health problems lol.

I was just wondering if anyone had similar stomach pain to me on the right side under the ribs in the middle etc, also the painful stomach rumbles and gurgling , or if anyone knows if my problem could be connected to celiac ? I have looked online and have no idea really how to solve the pain ?

Sorry if the post is too long , I wanted to write in details incase anyone has the same or similar problems.

Many Thanks

[psychologist2b]

Yes I have been in bed all day with that exact same problem. I have been seeing an allergist & found out I have food allergies & intolerance. I tried to reintroduce other grain (i.e rice), and that pain you are describing has persisted since then (a week ago). I also have diarrhea with undigested food and my DH sores flared up with fluid in them, and my lymph nodes under my chin swelled up like a golf ball. I cannot have ANY grains...in fact i am starting all over again with the elimination diet. I'm starting with Peas this time and I'm blending them since my stomach isn't digesting food :-( I went to Mayo clinic for the pain on the right side of my stomach and the doctors said it was sludge in my gallbladder, but i think it's a reaction in the duodenum to grains or whatever I may not be tolerating. Try an elimination diet. Try one food for 3 days and then introduce a new food for 3 days and so on, and maybe consider seeing an allergist? I know that pain is miserable!

[MelindaLee]

I have been getting stomach pain mostly in the right side of my stomach in the middle , under the ribs and sometimes near the bottom of my stomach. I also get a lot of rumbling and gurgling which is quite painful. This all started in May 2008 I don't remember how, I think it might have been after I got a virus but i'm not 100 % sure, it just started out of the blue I can't really remember properly. I was diagnosed with celiac in 2003 and never had any stomach problems after that , the occasional stomach pain here and there but nothing that lasted long.

In May 2008 when my stomach pain started , I had to go to A&E hospital at midnight because the pain was really bad , but the doctor's never found out what was wrong and just have me a lot of painkillers. Throughout the rest of 2008 my stomach pains were on and off it was really random. Than after a couple of weeks with no stomach pain it started up again in october 2008 and has never got better

I have been to see my celiac doctor and he says the stomach pain i'm getting is not connected to my celiac disease. But he has no idea what is causing the pain ? I thought it might be food intolerances and i'm seeing a dietitan at the moment but he can't find anything obvious on my food and symptoms diary. I get pain now 90 % of the time after I have eaten. Always after lunch and dinner , but not all the time after breakfast.

To get rid of the pain I take colfac tablets also known as Mebeverine. Quite a lot of the time if I go to the toilet my stomach gets better after going, also a shot of alcoholic drink normally calms my stomach down.

1 doctor said I had IBS but he also told me I was getting pain because I didn't stick to the gluten free diet which I do , I haven't had any gluten in 7 years. My celiac doctor doesn't really listen to me and my symptoms and tells me to take Mebeverine if my stomach gets bad.

Now I really don't have a clue what is going on with my stupid stomach I have also had back problems since I was 17 , i'm 23 now so i'm kinda fed up with health problems lol.

I was just wondering if anyone had similar stomach pain to me on the right side under the ribs in the middle etc, also the painful stomach rumbles and gurgling , or if anyone knows if my problem could be connected to celiac ? I have looked online and have no idea really how to solve the pain ?

Sorry if the post is too long , I wanted to write in details incase anyone has the same or similar problems.

Many Thanks

I was having pain on the right side, under my rib cage after eating. I was certain it was my gallbladder. I had tests done, which were inconclusion. They did an edoscopy and colonoscopy to rule out anything else. That is actually when they found my celiacs. My gallbladder is out and I don't have that pain anymore. Though I didn't have stones, my gallbladder was very swollen when they removed it. I understand gallbladder issues are come in celiacs.

[cassP]

stomach pain... and back problems.. have u considered that some of your pain might be muscular??? because i am having issues with this pretty bad. im a massage therapist and my body is WRECKED... back muscle spasms... illiopsoas spasms .. oblique spasms...

sometimes when the back is spasming- it radiates into my ab muscles..

i actually went into a walk in clinic one day because my diaphraghm and rectus abdominus (on the right side) were severely spasming so much that i was crying.

i was so lucky to get an Osteopath at the clinic- he felt around, and said he thought my GB was ok, and my ovaries were ok... he could tell that i had oblique spasms.. and really tight back... he adjusted me and explained that a messed up back can send "hyper" signals to the intestines and cause "D".

he prescribed muscle relaxers- and they do help.

it's confusing tho- sometimes i honestly cannot tell you where the muscle spasms stop and the intestinal gurgling begins.

i also just found out that i have Hypothyroid which can contribute to muscle spasms.

i assume that vitamin deficiencies can also cause spasms- as is common in gluten intolerance ( the deficiencies).

so, maybe you should find an Osteopath- they're great- and maybe they will have some answeres for you

[dilettantesteph]

My best guess would be that you have become more sensitive to trace contamination over time. The diet which worked for you very well earlier on no longer works for you. That happened to me. You could try to cut out processed foods and other possibly contaminated foods and go on a whole foods diet. See if that works better for you. A couple of weeks on it should be enough to find out.

[lynnelise]

Try the elimination diet and if you still have pain I would suspect gallbladder issues. I had mine out, like the previous post said no stones but it was terribly swollen and adhered to my liver with scar tissue.

[tennisman]

Thanks everyone for the advice

[tennisman]

Yes I have been in bed all day with that exact same problem. I have been seeing an allergist & found out I have food allergies & intolerannce. I tried to reintroduce other grain (i.e rice), and that pain you are describing has persisted since then (a week ago). I also have diarrhea with undigested food and my DH sores flared up with fluid in them, and my lymph nodes under my chin swelled up like a gold ball. I cannot have ANY grains...in fact i am starting all over again with the elimination diet. I'm starting with Peas this time and I'm blening them since my stomach isn't digesting food :-( I went to Mayo clinic for the pain on the right side of my stomach and the doctors said it was sludge in my gallbladder, but i think it's a reaction in the duodenum to grains or whatever you may not be tolerating. Try an elimination diet. Try one food for 3 days and then introduce anew food for 3 days and so on, and maybe consider seeing an allergist? I know that pain is miserable!

The problem really sucks. Good luck with the elimination diet and I hope you can find out what is wrong, and get better soon I have been doing an elimination diet with my dietitan at the moment , I had to avoid potatoes for 3 weeks ( so far had 18 days without potatoes ) after a few days the pain seemed to improve but a few days later it got really bad again. I will try and see an allergist Thanks for the reply and advice

[tennisman]

I was having pain on the right side, under my rib cage after eating. I was certain it was my gallbladder. I had tests done, which were inconclusion. They did an edoscopy and colonoscopy to rule out anything else. That is actually when they found my celiacs. My gallbladder is out and I don't have that pain anymore. Though I didn't have stones, my gallbladder was very swollen when they removed it. I understand gallbladder issues are come in celiacs.

Thanks for the reply and advice I had an ultrasound scan on my liver in february , and when I asked my doctor would that see the gallbladder too , he said yes , is that right ? I will have to ask my doctor again about the gallbladder . Which tests did you have done for your gallbladder ?

[tennisman]

stomach pain... and back problems.. have u considered that some of your pain might be muscular??? because i am having issues with this pretty bad. im a massage therapist and my body is WRECKED... back muscle spasms... illiopsoas spasms .. oblique spasms...

sometimes when the back is spasming- it radiates into my ab muscles..

i actually went into a walk in clinic one day because my diaphraghm and rectus abdominus (on the right side) were severely spasming so much that i was crying.

i was so lucky to get an Osteopath at the clinic- he felt around, and said he thought my GB was ok, and my ovaries were ok... he could tell that i had oblique spasms.. and really tight back... he adjusted me and explained that a messed up back can send "hyper" signals to the intestines and cause "D".

he prescribed muscle relaxers- and they do help.

it's confusing tho- sometimes i honestly cannot tell you where the muscle spasms stop and the intestinal gurgling begins.

i also just found out that i have Hypothyroid which can contribute to muscle spasms.

i assume that vitamin deficiencies can also cause spasms- as is common in gluten intolerance ( the deficiencies).

so, maybe you should find an Osteopath- they're great- and maybe they will have some answeres for you

My back problems were put down to bone pain rather than muscle pain. My stomach pain I have thought could be muscle pain as it would always get bad when I did stomach muscle exercise to help my back. Sounds like your having a bad time with spasms That's interesting about back and stomach problems being connected. I don't think that's my problem though as my back pain started in 2005 and my stomach pain started in 2008 , surely they would have started at the same time if they were connected ? Sounds like it must be hard to tell the difference.

I have been to see a couple of osteopath's , 1 was really helpful , 1 was a really stupid person and 1 osteopath saw me for a couple of months before they reliased treatment was not working lol. Thanks for the reply and advice

[tennisman]

My best guess would be that you have become more sensitive to trace contamination over time. The diet which worked for you very well earlier on no longer works for you. That happened to me. You could try to cut out processed foods and other possibly contaminated foods and go on a whole foods diet. See if that works better for you. A couple of weeks on it should be enough to find out.

That's interesting , I will have to try a whole foods diet sometime. Thanks for the idea

[tennisman]

Try the elimination diet and if you still have pain I would suspect gallbladder issues. I had mine out, like the previous post said no stones but it was terribly swollen and adhered to my liver with scar tissue.

I am doing the elimination diet at the moment with my dietitan , I have been told to cut potatoes out for 3 weeks ( done 18 days so far ) . Did you have any tests on your gallbladder to find it was badly swollen or you just found out after it was taken out ? Thanks for the reply and advice

[psychologist2b]

The problem really sucks. Good luck with the elimination diet and I hope you can find out what is wrong, and get better soon I have been doing an elimination diet with my dietitan at the moment , I had to avoid potatoes for 3 weeks ( so far had 18 days without potatoes ) after a few days the pain seemed to improve but a few days later it got really bad again. I will try and see an allergist Thanks for the reply and advice

Good luck with the elimination diet...i think it will really help and seeing an allergist/immunologist will help as well :-)

I got results from my food allergy blood work. I am allergic to nightshade veggies...which includes potatoes! NASTY potatoes. Um try eliminating all related nightshades. It doesn 't make sense to only eliminate potatoes when there is a possiblitiy of cross reaction to other veggies in that nightshade family, which are tomatos, chillies (ALL of them), eggplant, and tobacco plant. Do a google search on nightshade vegetables. Also try cutting out other grains and also cut out preservatives. I am deathly allergic to Xanthan GUM and Carageenan, food additives. I go into anaphylactic shock :-( BUT what cause the pain in the right side of my stomach and my lower abs was the RICE and the stupid sunflower seeds and pumkin seeds (Gluten free on the label). Honestly the only things that I can eat and feel good with are pure whole organic foods. I have been working with my allergist for four months now and I know. You just need a food diary to make notes about what symptoms u have and document them with the foods that you are eating. When I re-introduced potatos, my left ear began to drain and it really hurt! ...Among other thing. And cut back on dairy and those nasty soy, almond and rice milk products. Too many additives including Xanthan Gum...etc. Strawberries cause a pseudo-inflammatory response also. Consider cutting back on Lectins...

[psychologist2b]

My back problems were put down to bone pain rather than muscle pain. My stomach pain I have thought could be muscle pain as it would always get bad when I did stomach muscle exercise to help my back. Sounds like your having a bad time with spasms That's interesting about back and stomach problems being connected. I don't think that's my problem though as my back pain started in 2005 and my stomach pain started in 2008 , surely they would have started at the same time if they were connected ? Sounds like it must be hard to tell the difference.

I have been to see a couple of osteopath's , 1 was really helpful , 1 was a really stupid person and 1 osteopath saw me for a couple of months before they reliased treatment was not working lol. Thanks for the reply and advice

Be aware that with Celiac Disease your Potassium can drop down low due to Malabsorption, which DOES casue mauscle spasms. I didn't relialize why my feet were cramping when I walked at the mall. it was soooo painful I had to sit on the floor. I was taking tumbling/gymnastics classes and I had a trainer. I went the the ER a few times (before I knew about Celiac) and every time my potassium was very very low. They would hook me up to an IV to give me fluids and potassium or give me this huge potassium pill. I was really sick. A potassium supplement (Gluten free) couldn't hurt right?

[lynnelise]

I am doing the elimination diet at the moment with my dietitan , I have been told to cut potatoes out for 3 weeks ( done 18 days so far ) . Did you have any tests on your gallbladder to find it was badly swollen or you just found out after it was taken out ? Thanks for the reply and advice

They did an ultrasound to rule out gallstones and when that was clear they did a HIDA scan that showed that my gallbladder was not functioning. When they took it out they saw the swelling and scar tissue! Hope this helps!

[MelindaLee]

They did an ultrasound to rule out gallstones and when that was clear they did a HIDA scan that showed that my gallbladder was not functioning. When they took it out they saw the swelling and scar tissue! Hope this helps!

Same for me, except the HIDA scan was not conclusive. During the HIDA scan, they give you a medication to cause your gallbladder to contract as it does with digestion, this tells them how it is functioning. Mine did function, but the pain was reproduced during that portion of the test. That is what made by GI confident the gallbladder had to come out, even with finding the celiac.

[Marz]

Sounds like you should get your gallbladder checked out? The HIDA scan the others mentioned sounds good.

Do you get nausea with the pain? Pain worse after eating fatty foods? Pain less when you eat non-fatty foods?

My mom had a severely infected gall bladder, she suffered for a few months with on-and-off pain and doctors couldn't say what it was. Eventually one night the pain was so bad she was taken to the ER, they did a ultrasound and picked up some gravel in the gallbladder. The doctor said not enough to suspect gallbladder problems, but decided to operate anyway and have a look. After it was removed, he told her that her gallbladder was about to burst it was so bad 0.o

She's feeling much better with it out, needless to say

[tennisman]

Good luck with the elimination diet...i think it will really help and seeing an allergist/immunologist will help as well :-)

I got results from my food allergy blood work. I am allergic to nightshade veggies...which includes potatoes! NASTY potatoes. Um try eliminating all related nightshades. It doesn 't make sense to only eliminate potatoes when there is a possiblitiy of cross reaction to other veggies in that nightshade family, which are tomatos, chillies (ALL of them), eggplant, and tobacco plant. Do a google search on nightshade vegetables. Also try cutting out other grains and also cut out preservatives. I am deathly allergic to Xanthan GUM and Carageenan, food additives. I go into anaphylactic shock :-( BUT what cause the pain in the right side of my stomach and my lower abs was the RICE and the stupid sunflower seeds and pumkin seeds (Gluten free on the label). Honestly the only things that I can eat and feel good with are pure whole organic foods. I have been working with my allergist for four months now and I know. You just need a food diary to make notes about what symptoms u have and document them with the foods that you are eating. When I re-introduced potatos, my left ear began to drain and it really hurt! ...Among other thing. And cut back on dairy and those nasty soy, almond and rice milk products. Too many additives including Xanthan Gum...etc. Strawberries cause a pseudo-inflammatory response also. Consider cutting back on Lectins...

Thanks I hope so It's funny today someone rang up to recommend me an allergist who is suppose to be really good

That sucks about the nightshades. I don't really eat any of the other nightshades vegetables but I will make sure I check what I eat for tomatoes , chilli's etc. I will also cut out other grains. The Xanthan Gum and Carageenan allergies sound really bad Stupid Rice and seeds. Sounds like the allergist helped a lot I had to make a food and symptoms diary , my dietitian has been checking it for intolrences. I don't like the sound of re introducing food that gives you symptoms , my dietitian said I might have to do it he called it a food challenge lol.

[tennisman]

Be aware that with Celiac Disease your Potassium can drop down low due to Malabsorption, which DOES casue mauscle spasms. I didn't relialize why my feet were cramping when I walked at the mall. it was soooo painful I had to sit on the floor. I was taking tumbling/gymnastics classes and I had a trainer. I went the the ER a few times (before I knew about Celiac) and every time my potassium was very very low. They would hook me up to an IV to give me fluids and potassium or give me this huge potassium pill. I was really sick. A potassium supplement (Gluten free) couldn't hurt right?

I don't think I have ever had my potassium levels tested before. I found out I had Vitamin D deficiency that was apparently because I was celiiac. I will ask my doctor to test my potassium levels. Sounds like low potassium levels made you really ill I hope your levels have improved now ?

[tennisman]

They did an ultrasound to rule out gallstones and when that was clear they did a HIDA scan that showed that my gallbladder was not functioning. When they took it out they saw the swelling and scar tissue! Hope this helps!

Cool I had never heard of a HIDA scan before I will ask my doctor thanks

[tennisman]

Same for me, except the HIDA scan was not conclusive. During the HIDA scan, they give you a medication to cause your gallbladder to contract as it does with digestion, this tells them how it is functioning. Mine did function, but the pain was reproduced during that portion of the test. That is what made by GI confident the gallbladder had to come out, even with finding the celiac.

That's interesting how the scan works , thanks for the information.

[tennisman]

Sounds like you should get your gallbladder checked out? The HIDA scan the others mentioned sounds good.

Do you get nausea with the pain? Pain worse after eating fatty foods? Pain less when you eat non-fatty foods?

My mom had a severely infected gall bladder, she suffered for a few months with on-and-off pain and doctors couldn't say what it was. Eventually one night the pain was so bad she was taken to the ER, they did a ultrasound and picked up some gravel in the gallbladder. The doctor said not enough to suspect gallbladder problems, but decided to operate anyway and have a look. After it was removed, he told her that her gallbladder was about to burst it was so bad 0.o

She's feeling much better with it out, needless to say

Yeh the HIDA scan sounds like a good idea. I don't get nausea , and I used to think fatty foods made the pain worse but I don't think that anymore.

Wow that's really bad what happened to your mom's gall bladder. Im glad she feels better now

[Chuck3195]

After starting my Gluten Free diet (about 1 week after starting) I started to have stomach ache's where the bloating feeling used to be. I read in another thread that others have had aches or pains after beginning the gluten-free diet. I'm hoping mine goes away. Anyone one else have aches or pains after starting a Gluten Free diet? I hope it goes away. Guess I need to go back to the Dr. or at least report the aches in each side, sometimes it moves around but mostly int the sides.

[cassP]

After starting my Gluten Free diet (about 1 week after starting) I started to have stomach ache's where the bloating feeling used to be. I read in another thread that others have had aches or pains after beginning the gluten-free diet. I'm hoping mine goes away. Anyone one else have aches or pains after starting a Gluten Free diet? I hope it goes away. Guess I need to go back to the Dr. or at least report the aches in each side, sometimes it moves around but mostly int the sides.

hhhmmmmm- now im wondering- if -- maybe as the body starts to get busy healing those villi- maybe there's a lot more circulation and movement down there- and maybe that's what some are feeling- an increase in activity down there??

(im just thinking outloud)